Sea trial KAD32

[russ]

I was taken out on a sea trial on a boat I was thinking of buying yesterday. What a noise those KAD32 engines make.
Now I'm glad I didn't buy the first boat i had a survey on which also had a 32.
I know people consider diesel to be better than petrol but I think I will go for the latter just for the quietness and lack of exhaust smoke.

 

[ash12]

you can get diesel engines that are quiet, smooth and non smoking. I would never buy a boat with volvos in.

 

[KevB]

I was taken out on a sea trial on a boat I was thinking of buying yesterday. What a noise those KAD32 engines make.
Now I'm glad I didn't buy the first boat i had a survey on which also had a 32.
I know people consider diesel to be better than petrol but I think I will go for the latter just for the quietness and lack of exhaust smoke.

I'd imagine it's lack of insulation on the boat rather than excessive engine noise. Unless of course there was something wrong with the engine.

 

[Peanuts]

I was taken out on a sea trial on a boat I was thinking of buying yesterday. What a noise those KAD32 engines make.
Now I'm glad I didn't buy the first boat i had a survey on which also had a 32.
I know people consider diesel to be better than petrol but I think I will go for the latter just for the quietness and lack of exhaust smoke.

You don't mention the make/type of boat you were looking at.

Was it the general overall noise or was it the compressor working noise you thought was loud?

 

[CX54WEK]

We have a Sealine S23 with a kad32 and we dont find her unduly noisey. You get the supercharger whining for a while but the turbo soon takes over and makes for a quieter ride.

We also dont find it unduly smokey either. In fact we know when she is ready for a good blast as she starts to smoke a little more than usual but after a good run she stops smoking again.

The engine noise is a little more intrusive if the hoods are up but again not enough to cause any concern.

 

[Firefly625]

if you think petrol will suit your requirements better... go for it! A couple of nice V8's in a sports cruiser certainly make a nice noise if that's what you are after.

Plus you will become on first name terms with the petrol pump attendant at your local marina... and at circa £1.45p/l you may even make it onto his Christmas card list! Enjoy!

 

[omega2]

noisey engines

we wear ear protectors, not too bad when up on the flybridge though. Very quiet when the anchor is down and the rods are out.

 

[RIN]

I was taken out on a sea trial on a boat I was thinking of buying yesterday. What a noise those KAD32 engines make.
Now I'm glad I didn't buy the first boat i had a survey on which also had a 32.
I know people consider diesel to be better than petrol but I think I will go for the latter just for the quietness and lack of exhaust smoke.

I had two 5.7L V8 petrols in my boat and they have now been replaced with KAD32s.

I really, really, really miss the sound of those v8s purring away at full chat.

However, given the relative costs of fuel and calorific content of the two fuels, I think the best bet is still the KADs.

But I do miss the sound of the twin v8's

 

[carlton]

Plus you will become on first name terms with the petrol pump attendant at your local marina... and at circa £1.45p/l you may even make it onto his Christmas card list! Enjoy!

True - but there's always a flip side.

He'll have to be careful not to drop his wallet in the briney whilst he's filling up. He wouldn't want to lose the £15,000 cash he's saved by not buying a diesel-engined boat...

 

[CX54WEK]

True - but there's always a flip side.

He'll have to be careful not to drop his wallet in the briney whilst he's filling up. He wouldn't want to lose the £15,000 cash he's saved by not buying a diesel-engined boat...

He will never pass a petrol pump though!!!!

That 15k is money well spent if you plan of getting some serious use from your boat.

 

[carlton]

He will never pass a petrol pump though!!!!

That 15k is money well spent if you plan of getting some serious use from your boat.

It's o.k. - there's no need to defend your decision.

Having owned both petrol and diesel boats I was just pointing out that there are two sides to every situation, and it's the OP's call.

 

[Firefly625]

He will never pass a petrol pump though!!!!

That 15k is money well spent if you plan of getting some serious use from your boat.

and also then there's the longevity of a diesel engine over a petrol... a well used petrol v8 boat engine will last how long on average in a marine environment...... 12years, 15years..??? so if you are looking for a second hand boat that £15k you saved... guess where it will be spent in the future..

not all diesels are noisey. Certainly my Yanmar 4LHA isn't

 

[poltergeist]

True - but there's always a flip side.

He'll have to be careful not to drop his wallet in the briney whilst he's filling up. He wouldn't want to lose the £15,000 cash he's saved by not buying a diesel-engined boat...

It would be money well spent in my book - I know what I'd rather have, but like you say - it's each to their own.

The KAD32's have got to be one of the most reliable small diesels out there - many a boat has them, but you rarely hear of them giving problems. The KAD's in my old boat didn't miss a beat - wish I could say that for the newer D series engines!

 

[neale]

True - but there's always a flip side.

He'll have to be careful not to drop his wallet in the briney whilst he's filling up. He wouldn't want to lose the £15,000 cash he's saved by not buying a diesel-engined boat...

But the third side of the coin is that on a second hand boat, you'll probably get most, if not all, the difference back when you come to sell it.

This is the argument not often challenged when people say "£xxxx buys you an awful lot of petrol".

Yes it does, but when you've spent it on petrol it's gone. At least by spending it on a diesel engine, you get cheaper running costs and some/all your money back.

 

[ricky_s]

But the third side of the coin is that on a second hand boat, you'll probably get most, if not all, the difference back when you come to sell it.

This is the argument not often challenged when people say "£xxxx buys you an awful lot of petrol".

Yes it does, but when you've spent it on petrol it's gone. At least by spending it on a diesel engine, you get cheaper running costs and some/all your money back.

I had to decide on diesel or petrol last season. Diesel boat was about £10K ish more, last year I probably used about £800 in petrol.

So unless you spend all your time at sea flat out, instead of the usual couple of hours then in a marina I think the petrol may be better value for most. Especially when you include the extra servicing costs etc.

I'm still getting a diesel next time though

 

[CX54WEK]

I had to decide on diesel or petrol last season. Diesel boat was about £10K ish more, last year I probably used about £800 in petrol.

So unless you spend all your time at sea flat out, instead of the usual couple of hours then in a marina I think the petrol may be better value for most. Especially when you include the extra servicing costs etc.

I'm still getting a diesel next time though

The diesel boat will still be 10k more though when you come to sell.

Depending on where you get you diesel your fuel costs could have been almost halved.

We currently pay 66ppl where as petrol locally is 120ppl. Not quite half the price but the diesel is also far more economical.

We do quite high hours with ours (350 last year) petrol just wasnt an option. Reliability is the key. In 375 hours over 20 months she has never let us down. She overheated yesterday but that was due to a plastic bag and took the whole of 15 minutes to fix.

 

[ricky_s]

The diesel boat will still be 10k more though when you come to sell.

Depending on where you get you diesel your fuel costs could have been almost halved.

We currently pay 66ppl where as petrol locally is 120ppl. Not quite half the price but the diesel is also far more economical.

We do quite high hours with ours (350 last year) petrol just wasnt an option. Reliability is the key. In 375 hours over 20 months she has never let us down. She overheated yesterday but that was due to a plastic bag and took the whole of 15 minutes to fix.

You are right for the hours you do. Think I would go a lot further if I had the diesel, not sure about the reliability being an issue with a petrol though.

 

[bammylovechops]

A point to mention is availability of petrol.

From Conwy all the way round Anglesey NO PETROL at all and that included Holyhead Harbour. Some places you even need to get a cab to the petrol station.

As a previous owner of a V8 petrol, great sound and acceleration, but as regarding pound for pound running costs diesel wins hands down.

As previously said the extra cost is covered by the savings of a more efficient diesel and then you get your money back on resale, IMHO.

 

[russ]

I agree that diesel is the favourite option and would love to stick with it on my search but there doesn't seem to be that many 25-26' cruisers with diesel a engine for around £30k.
Maybe the boat I trialled had a poor engine as I didn't seem to here the supercharger kick in and there was a smell of diesel oil.
So I wont right off a KAD32 until I've tried out another.

He'll have to be careful not to drop his wallet in the briney whilst he's filling up. He wouldn't want to lose the £15,000 cash he's saved by not buying a diesel-engined boat...

Yet Carlton with a £1000 petrol bill per year its free boating for 15 years if a diesel is asking £15k more to buy.

 

[carlton]

Yet Carlton with a £1000 petrol bill per year its free boating for 15 years if a diesel is asking £15k more to buy.

You've got it. Don't get me wrong, diesel boats are generally better all ends up for the many reasons given by various posters above, but if your budget won't stretch to it for the size of boat you've either gotta plump for an older/smaller boat or petrol engines.

Not so sure about firefly's comment re. '... a well used petrol v8 boat engine will last how long on average in a marine environment...... 12years, 15years..???' My V8s are coming up to 18 years old - and they still fire up first time before purring on tickover and growling when revved.